Buying a Stroller

With the crib, changing table, and other nursery furniture purchased and installed, we next focused our efforts on finding a stroller.  We quickly became overwhelmed by the options!  Umbrella strollers, jogging stollers, luxury strollers, travel systems, etc.  Where to begin?

Last May when we were in San Francisco for a weekend, we saw a couple with this stroller out and about.  Matt was impressed.  So, long before I ever got pregnant, Matt was doing stroller research!  After watching countless stroller reviews on YouTube and reading dozens of stroller reviews on Baby Gizmo, we came up with a list of things that really mattered to us:

• lightweight -- something less than 22ish pounds.
• easy to collapse -- we don't want to regularly struggle with baby and stroller at the same time.
• washable fabric -- this requirement was key!  Babies are messy!
• reversible seat -- we want baby to face us for at least the first several months before taking a look at the wild world in front of the stroller.
• seat and pram components -- we plan to use the pram (bed) until the baby outgrows it, moving on to the seat; one stroller with both options.  Also, the pram can function as a portable moses basket, eliminating the need to buy a moses basket or portable crib, at least for the first several months.
• big wheels/good suspension -- we live in a neighborhood surrounded by hills and crappy sidewalks but we don't want that to stop us from exploring with baby!
• weight restriction -- something that will last until baby is at least 45+ pounds, eliminating the need to buy a replacement for at least a few years.
• compatible with a carseat -- preferably compatible with mulitple brands of carseats since we don't yet know which carseat we'll buy.

We quickly realized that the only strollers that meet all of these requirements are considered luxury strollers and cost anywhere from $500 to $1000+!!  Matt's attraction to the Stokke was excellent foreshadowing!! The bummer about luxury strollers (besides the cost) is that none of them are suitable for running.  We had originally hoped to buy only 1 stroller:  an everyday stroller and a jogging stroller in one.  Turns out they don't make those, at least not for use with a newborn and, really, jogging strollers can't be used with baby until around 6 months.  With that in mind, we decided to wait to worry about a jogging stroller until much later. 

The brands we researched included:

• Mutsy
• Stokke
• Uppa Baby
• Bugaboo
• BOB
• Mountain Buggy
• Phil & Teds
• Quinny

The brand that kept coming out on top over and over was the coveted Bugaboo line.  While we were in Boston, Matt's parents took us to what is considered one of the best baby gear stores in the country.  There we were able to test-drive almost all of the strollers we'd researched.  And, again, the Bugaboo came out on top. It's lightweight with incredible suspension, has multiple seat/sleep options, comes with reversible handlebar (that way you don't even have to reverse the seat!), and is really cool looking.  Unfortunately, only 2 of the Bugaboo strollers met all of our requirements and they are the most expensive 2:  the Frog and the Cameleon.   The Bee, althought incredibly lightweight and a great travel stroller, didn't come with as many seat/sleep options as the others and isn't nearly as pretty to look at (yes, we're shallow).

Since there was no way we were going to pay $800-$1000 for a stroller, the hunt for a used Bugaboo Frog or Cameleon was on!  To make a long story short, I must have contacted 20+ sellers on Craigslist before we finally got lucky.  Friday we brought home our new-to-us Bugaboo Cameleon (made possible by a generous birthday contribution from my parents).  I washed all of the fabric and reassembled everything Friday night.  It rides like a dream!  We're very pleased with out purchase. 

With pram from top angle

With pram from side

With seat flat from side

With seat upright from front

I don't love the tan color combination but Bugaboo (and Babies-R-Us) both sell the fabric set in other color combinations.  

Next on our list:  carseats (Bugaboo is compatible with Graco, Maxi Cosi, and Peg Perego)!